'Levelling up investment in cattle market will benefit town centre as well'

That was the prediction of Melton Borough Council’s portfolio holder for growth and prosperity, Councillor Rob Bindloss, as he celebrated the success of a bid which will see £23milion pumped into the Melton and Rutland area.

A chunk of that money will go into establishing a food hub at the market’s Stockyard area for new and existing businesses and creating a multi-functional open air event space on the site.

The aim is to utilise unused areas of the livestock market site, while retaining the market’s reputation as a premier regional location for the buying and selling of animals.

More food and drink businesses will now be encouraged to set up there on the back of the funding alongside established brands already there, such as the Fur and Feather cocktail bar and gin distillery, Round Corner Brewing and Feast and the Furious’ artisan smokery.

Concerns have been raised by some traders that continuing to develop the market site will draw potential customers away from businesses in the town centre at a time when the local economy is suffering from the effects of the pandemic and the ongoing cost of living crisis.

But Councillor Bindloss, speaking at a press conference today about the levelling up funding, said there was a misconception that only the cattle market site would benefit.

He told the Melton Times: “The market is only two to three minutes walk from the town centre.

"This investment will bring a lot more people into the market and they are then going to want to explore what else the town has to offer in terms of the shops, the pubs and the restaurants. So the whole town will benefit.”

He said the plans for a modern open air events area at the market would see modernised toilet facilities and a site which will enable a greater range of events to be stage there, such as festivals and cinema nights.

“This investment will take it to another level in terms of an events space,” he added.

Edd de Coverly, chief executive of Melton Borough Council, commented: “The borough did really well to secure the investment.

"There were 525 bids and only 111 were successful with just 11 of these in the East Midlands.

"Our funding was the 12th highest in the country.”

Rutland and Melton MP Alicia Kearns was overjoyed to help secure the funding.

She said: “This was a really competitive process because hundreds of MPs put in bids for funding from all over the country.

"We are so pleased because this is a once-in-a-generation investment for Melton and Rutland.

Part of the levelling up funding will see £6.5million invested in a ‘demand response transport’ service to carry villagers where bus services have been axed or cut back.

She told the Melton Times: “We have mapped out a pool of services which will connect rural areas to Melton and Oakham where the bus services have been reduced or lost. It will mean people in villages like Great Dalby and Wymondham will have transport available to them again.”